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Boos & Applause

Applause to all the players, coaches, officials and family members who took part in Thursday’s opening ceremonies for the Ohio Valley Regional Tournament, taking place this weekend in Elkins. Twelve teams from six different states are playing games through Monday at Robin Harvey Memorial Field and Elkins High School Post 29 Field. The host team for the event is the Elkins Elks Babe Ruth 15-year-old All-Star team, and we wish them the best of luck on the diamond this weekend.

Applause to Gen. Charles R. “Charlie” Holland, a highly decorated military veteran who offered Elkins Rotarians a glimpse this week into what special forces units do. Holland, an Elkins native who now lives in Tampa, Florida, served as commander for United States military special operations forces when the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on New York City took place. His work included commanding anti-terrorism missions following the 9/11 attacks and working closely with then-President George H.W. Bush. Rotary officials greatly appreciated Holland’s taking the time to share his expertise and experience with our community.

Applause to Philippi Middle School’s Angela McDaniel, Barbour County’s Teacher of the Year for 2018, who was chosen as the Army Educational Outreach Team Advisor of the Year for the program known as eCybermission. McDaniel was chosen after encouraging students for the past years to participate in this program. This has involved well over 200 students. She has advised more than 20 teams to state wins, helping them amass more than $20,000 in savings bonds. This year, she had 34 teams enter the competition and had four state placing teams. She was honored at the National Educational and Judging Event, in Reston, Virginia, where the regional winning teams were judged and national winners announced. McDaniel was also a judge for the National Science Fair Event.

Applause to last Saturday’s Upshur County Relay for Life, which brought the community organization’s total of raised funds to approximately $47,000 for the past year. Michael Alkire, senior community development manager for American Cancer Society, said attendees who participated in the Relay for Life event — held at Jawbone Park — raised roughly $6,000.

Boo to the cloud of doubt that Don Blankenship’s intended candidacy has put over this year’s West Virginia Senate race. Blankenship lost in the primary in May as a Republican. This month he filed to be placed on the November ballot as a member of the Constitution Party. On Thursday, however, Secretary of State Mac Warner’s office rejected Blankenship’s candidacy, saying the state’s “Sore Loser” law prevents Blankenship from running. The “sore loser” law is aimed at keeping candidates who lose primary elections from switching parties to get their names on the ballot. Now many experts expect Blankenship to challenge the law with a lawsuit. That could take some time to resolve, throwing a wrench into the campaigns of Democratic incumbent Joe Manchin and Republican nominee Patrick Morrisey. All this year Blankenship has enjoyed frustrating political officials who frankly don’t want him running for office. A lawsuit at this late stage might prove just as frustrating for West Virginia’s voters, however, who need to know who is going to be on the general election ballot in November. Here’s hoping this issue can be cleared up quickly — and definitively.

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